April 2014 - Oklahoma

Daddy was at Fort Sill in Oklahoma for the first part of 2014 so we went to visit him for spring break. We had wonderful weather and enjoyed finding things to do in the Oklahoma City area. We discovered that Oklahoma City has a great zoo, on par with the San Diego Zoo! The kids each had a turn feeding a giraffe, we fed lorakeets and even petted some sting rays (with stingers removed).

We visited the Artillery Museum on the army base and learned lots about the history of artillery.

The kids loved the science museum in Oklahoma City, they got to try out a Segway! And lucky for us the science museum had a special exhibit on rock and roll - the kids tried out drums and guitars and had great fun "rocking out"!  

No visit to Oklahoma would be complete without a stop at the cowboy museum. We learned about what life was like as a cowboy, not quite as glamorous as the movies would have you believe.

We found a famous hamburger place in the middle of no where just outside the army base. Had a delicious meal and got to see lots of wildlife on the way home. 

March 2014 - Hogle Zoo

It was an early spring here in Utah, no better time to go see the Hogle Zoo in Salt Lake City. We saw elephants, rhinos, giraffes, turtles, birds, monkeys, otters, seals and even some bald eagles! It was a great day and so nice not to be encumbered by a stroller - these big kids walked around all day and didn't even whine! 

What day at the zoo is complete without an ice cream cone?

We have a park near us that is a family favorite. There is a great playground area and lots of hiking trails. It was wonderful to get out and soak in the sunshine, play around, eat a picnic lunch, and go for a short hike.

Carson actually can sit still, but not for more than a minute.

We celebrated Carson's 7th birthday in March with a small party of his friends at our house. Here he is blowing out the candles on his dinosaur-volcano birthday cake!

February 2014

We had a great visit with Grammy in early February. She taught Rachel to play Canasta and played a few hands of War with Carson.

February was the debut of the much-anticipated Lego Movie. We liked it so much we saw it a second time. Here are the kids at the playground just outside the movie theater. Spring jackets in February! Yes, this has been the warmest February I remember since moving to Utah.

In mid-February we celebrated my birthday and the kids made me a chocolate cake (with some help from Daddy). They almost bought one in the store but Rachel wanted to make one so they could add some love to it. So sweet. And it was delicious!

We had a few days that felt like spring in late February, warm enough to stop at our favorite park to play. Here is Rachel with 'Furry' - this is the fur from the hood of her jacket that zips off. She decided to make it a pet and even took it to school to show her friends. Yes, its almost time for us to get a dog.

January 2014

January was a quiet month with lots of snow for playing outside. 

Rachel got the board game Life for Christmas and loves playing it so much that she even played with her new stuffed dog, Cocoa.

We had enough snow in January for a small snow fort in the front yard. The kids like to hide in their snow fort while the driveway is being cleared, and sometimes they even get a dusting from the snow blower!

December 2013

Rachel had her second piano recital the first week in December. She played some of her favorite pieces from her lessons and also played Away in a Manger. 

The kids got all dressed up for their Christmas Program at school. They have been working on songs in music class at school and the Christmas Program is a chance for parents to hear their wonderful songs.

In mid-December Rachel's class at school held Immigration Day where all the students dressed and acted as immigrants for a day. They started by sitting in a boat which was rocked by parent volunteers to represent the steerage section of the boats most immigrants traveled in. Next they landed on Ellis Island where they had to fill out paperwork and even pretend to pass a medical exam. What a great experience!

Our Christmas gathering this year included Grandad, Aunt Deb and Shivani. We had plenty of little hands to help with the Christmas cookies :)

Rachel shows Shivani how to play the game Trouble!

The day before Christmas the sun and blue sky were beckoning so we answered the call with some sledding! 

Go Grandad go! Sure hope I can do that when I reach 80!

Shivani was a great sport considering how little her legs are and how big the sledding hill was. She laughed the whole way up the hill.

We had a wonderful Christmas morning filled with all the mayhem you would expect when children and presents are involved. The wrapping paper was flying and the kids were jumping up and down and screaming. Such fun to see them excited about their gifts.

Carson wasted no time building his Lego lion temple. Almost all by himself this year!

Grandad and the kids enjoyed a 3D movie in the evening. Quiet time at last.

We celebrated with Pete and Jen the day after Christmas since they were with Jen's family for Christmas day.

We had to stop at the frozen custard shop in town, the BEST ice cream there is!

The next day we enjoyed a beautiful walk around the neighborhood.